Eric Siu discusses what business owners actually owe their employees. When you lay someone off, you're affecting their mortgage, their kids' tuition, their health insurance. The conversation covers how some founders offer severance packages or side deals to ease the transition, and why treating people well pays off long-term.
I don't think enough people think about that. Like when you start a business, you're actually dealing with the livelihoods of people. Like if you don't take good care of them, you're an asshole, right?
Their mortgage, they have tuition, their family, food. And it's just like, oh, you let 'em go. How are they all gonna pay their mortgage? What are they gonna do? What are they gonna do for health insurance if some of 'em are sick? And these things come up. And I've been in those situations that I had to let go people 'cause it wasn't working out. And then I had to do side deals with them just 'cause I felt really bad. And I'm like, I know you need insurance.
That'll go a long way too. People remember that stuff and they'll come back to you in spades later. And it's not like you're trying to get a favor back. Back. But the more good things you do, the more it compounds for the long term. And it's just easier to be a kind person.
